Well getting the itch for something new to chase whitetails around with, and would like it to be a member of the 7mm family. Sold my 7WSM's and kinda regreting it, guess that's why I feel I'm missing a .284 in the safe now. Seems to be alot of 7mm-08 fans around here, hows about 280 fans... thoughts, pros, cons on these 2 calibers? Ammo availability isn't a huge concern for me, so not an issue there. Thinking that with the 280 you could use a wider selection of bullets than in the /08 based on the longer case??? Appreciate the feedback

I have not owned a 7-08 but I think the 280 is a little quiker, the kills that I have had with it, and 140 partitions were like lightning. Also if you want to shoot a 160 it wont impede on powder capacity quite as much as the 08. but the 08 being a short action will be a slicker handling gun.J ust comes down to personal choice. Iam sure you will do great with either one.Just my opinion I am sure there will be lots of others.

i have a .280 and if you handload it's a hell of a cartridge.there also more and more factory loads available for them now.The 7-08 is a great cartridge as well but i don't have one so i can't comment.I'm sure you will get plenty of opinions on here. the .280 is as fast and flat as a .270 and hits a little harder.i have taken deer, elk ,moose and bears with mine and with good bullets and good shot placement it will do the job everytime.that being said i don't think there is a right or wrong between the two.Like what you shoot and shoot what you like.

I have not owned a 7-08 but I think the 280 is a little quiker, the kills that I have had with it, and 140 partitions were like lightning. Also if you want to shoot a 160 it wont impede on powder capacity quite as much as the 08. but the 08 being a short action will be a slicker handling gun.J ust comes down to personal choice. Iam sure you will do great with either one.Just my opinion I am sure there will be lots of others.

The 280 was my go to deer whacker until the missus stole it from me after poking a hole in her first deer. I had taken a half dozen deer and a nice antelope up until that point. It is a great round that gives nice performance and power without hurting the operator.

Remington is offering the 7mm08 in left handed youth (700sps) new for this year. After searching the forum info here and on other sites decided to order one for my young fellow. From all I have read, it sounds like a perfect cal for a beginner and a good all round gun for anyone wanting good performance with minimal recoil.

i have a Ruger Compact Frontier model in 7mm-08, really fast handling but not really a long distance rig. Nosler 140grn Partitions into 2 inches, not going to set any records but gets the job done in close cover. As stated above, my wife has claimed it and has no interest in ever letting me use it again, I just get to do the reloading.

Had kinda looked in that direction aswell, but would like to avoid getting another magnum in the safe right now, just an enjoyable shooter for deer and under. It's on the list somewhere, number just hasn't come up yet!

Which one....depends if you want a short action rifle or a long action rifle. The 280 has more versatility but isn't all that different ballistically than a 270 WIN. The 7mm-08 is a sweet cartridge for sure and would get my vote.

i have a Ruger Compact Frontier model in 7mm-08, really fast handling but not really a long distance rig. Nosler 140grn Partitions into 2 inches, not going to set any records but gets the job done in close cover. As stated above, my wife has claimed it and has no interest in ever letting me use it again, I just get to do the reloading.

Not long distance!!!There are a lot of silhouette shooters knocking over the rams at 500 meters.How long distance do you want to shoot?

This debate is similar to 30-06 vs 308. Boils down to long action vs short action plus or minus a few fps. I would vote for the short action 7mm-08. Great whitetail caliber.
wapiti11

.30-06 DAGNABIT...lol..j/k

Anyhoo...I have no experience with a .280 but years ago I bought a remington 700 in 7mm-08 for the old lady.Heh...she was pretty darn good with it at the range as it is a sweet shooting round....However..

Bothg are great calibers, both work great- same as the '06 and 308.
If you want to lighten things up, go 7/08.
As Sullijr stated, the 7/08 was designed to knock over the rams at 500 meters , which takes a fair bit of residual energy.

Most people that have a shyness towards recoil find that a 120 to 140 grain bullet works well, but is light enough for them to handle.

I've owned both and cannot take one over the other , unless you are talking about a heavier style of rifle to push 160 grain bullets , then it is 280 all the way.
My brother has a 7X57 Ruger ( very close to 7/08) that he loves for farmland white tails, but when is he bashing around the bush after swamp donkeys, it is "Spare Parts", his favorite rifle in 280 with either 160's or 162's that goes with him without fail.

I put that gun together for him from just that - spare parts, and cannot get it back!
Cat

__________________
some days it ain't worth chewin' through the straps to get out of bed.

Don't know about the 280, never used one, but my wife shoots a Rem. 7-08.I reload with 140 gr bullet with Re-15.Gun shoots extremely accurate and has very little recoil!My 15 year old daughter shoots deer with this gun also.I think highly of the 7-08 and wouldn't think twice of using it for a good deer gun.If you buy the Rem. you'll have to replace the trigger though, unless you like shooting 4lbs.

Not long distance!!!There are a lot of silhouette shooters knocking over the rams at 500 meters.How long distance do you want to shoot?

Sullijr,

I realize the potential of the 7mm-08, my comment was concerning the rifle not the cartridge. the rifle i own wears an intermediate eye relief scope (10in) with only 2.5x magnification. (Leupold Scout) Also the Ruger compact has a 16.5 in barrel, a little short to get the most of the cartridge, and lets be honest, it is a ruger. I like Rugers but they haven't been known for outstanding accuracy.

So what could you kill with a 7-08 or a .280 that couldn't be taken with a .270, with a much wider selection and availability of ammo? Sorry to stir the pot... wait, no I'm not

Yep, I'm sure they'll kill whatever is at the end just the same! However, I think there are better bullets (well, better selection is maybe a more accurate comment) available for .284 than .277 for reloading.

Appreciate the comments. I think I am leaning towards the 280, but the Browning I would like (the new A-Bolt Stainless Hunter) doesn't look to chamber it..... of course there is a 7mm-08 though

.284 Win.
.280 perfomance in a short action.
Mine is a Win. model 100 semi-auto. I like my steaks rare and my cartridges rare too.

Robin in Rocky

I know a fellow who has hunted for many years and has a huge collection of rifles. He shot a really big moose out in the mountians on a mixed bag hunt. I asked him what he used and he replied he had a Rem. model 7 in 7mm-08 that he was using for everything lately. Said it shot very well and was a pleasure to shoot.

The 7mm-08's are my deer rifles, 280's are Black Bear and moose rifles.

The 7mm-08 with 139/140gr bullets and the 280 with 160gr bullets have very similar flight paths so when I switch from 1 to the other I don't have to remember 2 separate sets of trajectories.

I think for deer the 7mm-08 is just about perfect. Falls right in between 2 of the greatest deer cartridges of all time (308Win and 270Win) and does so with about 15% less recoil.

The 280 rem is another great cartridge and if I could only have 1 gun it would likely be chambered in a 280 but you have about 25% more recoil than with the 7mm-08 with factory ammo. If you reload it doesn't matter as you can load the 280 down to 7mm-08 ballistics with about the same recoil.

Not as wide of selection for the 280 in factory chamberings but I see that Browning is listing it in all 4 of their new X-bolt's.

You won't go wrong either way but for a pure deer rifle the 7mm-08 is hard to beat.

Had a look at the X-Bolt, and while it is a nice looking/feeling gun, I think I prefer the A-Bolt still for now! Personally, I like the box magazine with the floor plate. This year they realeased a "Stainless Hunter" A-Bolt which is wood stock/stainless, here's a link if this works.

Kinda was figuring this was a similar debate like 308/3006, but with no experience on either cartridge just wanted to see what everyone thought of the 2. Guess at this point it comes down to what gun I want and if it comes in both calibers....that being said, suppose if the above is this gun, that makes my decision! Thanks for the help

Hey Cat, part of me would love to see a picture of "spare parts", but no doubt the image of her in my mind is WAYYY funnier than the actual picture would be! I hope....!